Rain lashed parts of Delhi on Wednesday morning bringing some respite from the scorching heat. The weather condition is likely to continue till Friday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the temperature on Wednesday morning was recorded a notch below the season’s average at 24.3 degrees Celsius.

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The maximum temperature for the day is expected to hover around three-four notches below the season’s average, an IMD official said.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) India has predicted thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with gusty winds likely over isolated places parts of North India including Delhi.

“Intense rain and thundershower activities are lashing most parts of Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad,” Skymet weather wrote on Twitter.

According to Skymet, the pre-monsoon rains are because of three phenomena — Western Disturbance, induced cyclonic circulation and the South Westerly winds.

“The rains on Wednesday were because of the back to back Western Disturbance. The Western Disturbance creates cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan. Also, the South Westerly winds from the Arabian Sea are increasing the moisture,” Mahesh Palawat, Vice President, Meteorology and Climate Change at the Skymet Weather told IANS.

The IMD has also predicted thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds (50-60 kmph) at isolated places very likely over Coastal Andhra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, MP, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya.

The air quality in the national capital improved significantly after Wednesday morning’s downpour, authorities told PTI.

The level of PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) was recorded at 64 and PM10 at 156, the SAFAR said, according to news agency PTI. Delhi’s air quality was oscillating between ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ for the last few days due to a dust storm in northwest India, which led to a sharp increase in the PM2.5 level.

The city witnessed light rain on Monday as well.